With more and more cases coming out from the Smash community, so much so that Nintendo themselves had come out and make a statement, condemning it it begs to question what the future of the competitive smash scene will be in the coming years! With all of that, I think it’s way past due that all future Smash tournaments need to be over the age of 18, and made mandatory!
Allow me to explain. I think that it’s high time we had future tournaments designated to various age groups, in order to protect kids from preying predators! All Smash tournaments need to start enforcing an 18+ age gate for their tournaments. Any person that is below the age of 18, needs to have a parent/guardian supervision at all times. I’m not just saying this for the big leagues like EVO, I’m mean in general, which includes local tournaments! There also needs to be more action taken to create an environment were victims can come forward and be listened to without fearing repercussion!
It may not be ideal for many young tournament participates looking to make it big in the Smash scenes, but is a necessary step in protecting the young! Yes, I’m fully aware that a-lot of the predatory acts take place in after-parties and hotel rooms. At that point, I have to say this is the responsibility of the parents to be more involved with their children and learning about who they associate with after the games being played! I feel like common senses should let you think “let my 14 year old kid hang out with grown adults may not be the best idea out there”!
If not addressed, I feel like this could be a damaging ramification for the entire competitive Smash scene. It could send a message of not taking this matter seriously! Anyways, that’s just my thoughts on the matter, let me know what you guys think? Is it too much or is it high time we started making changes to protect young players!
